evan mcbroom THE OTHER SIDE of the boattag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-12839862010-10-06T17:03:51-04:00there's always a better wayTypePadSee The Cratetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453cdff69e20133f4e44190970b2010-10-06T17:03:51-04:002010-10-06T17:04:32-04:00You can donate now at www.give2thecrate.orgEvan

You can donate now at www.give2thecrate.org

I'm Locked in The Crate for 3rd world medical projects - Help me get out!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453cdff69e201348803270f970c2010-10-06T14:54:11-04:002010-10-06T14:58:48-04:00Today, October 6, I'm held up in a 20 foot shipping container with three friends from church and together we're raising money and awareness for FAME to support their work in medical evangelism around the world! Projects include: Renovations to...Evan

Today, October 6, I'm held up in a 20 foot shipping container with three friends from church and together we're raising money and awareness for FAME to support their work in medical evangelism around the world!

Projects include:

Renovations to an out-patient clinic in Haiti $23,500

Ambulance for mission in India $15,000

Medical supplies for mission in Honduras $5,000

Scholarships for healthcare workers in Ghana $2,500

Our hope is to reach our goal and sleep in our own beds. Will you please donate to this incredible work? FAME meets the physical and spiritual people by bringing the love of Christ through medical care to areas that are really hurting.

Special thanks to my friends Kelly Ulm, Jennifer Denniston and Randy Cox for being part of The Crate. Also - thanks to Randy's company Compendium for their matching gift project.

Archive Post: Serve People, Not Projects (August 2007)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453cdff69e20133f332df6c970b2010-08-20T14:03:18-04:002010-08-20T14:03:18-04:00I had five meetings today. All important. Four for work and one was "meet the teacher night" at my daughter's high school. (very important!) In all of my work meetings - I found it exceptionally refreshing to find that I...Evan

I had five meetings today. All important. Four for work and one was "meet the teacher night" at my daughter's high school. (very important!)

In all of my work meetings - I found it exceptionally refreshing to find that I was working with and serving people and notprojects. Its easy in our work as church communicators to get wrapped up in working on projects (with deadlines and deliverables) and to miss the rich relational stuff of working with people (with stories and dreams).

One of my meetings was with a missions agency we hope to work with - and I asked them what they wanted out of a partner on this project. After they finished telling me their answer they asked me a question - "What did we (as Fishhook) want out of the partnership." I said, "transparency and relationship - that we can accomplish more if we're open and real." (I'm sure it was not that succinct, but that was the gist.) I realized throughout the day, as I reflected on my other meetings, that in every case I was working with people who I consider to be friends - real people who let down their guard and worked together closely and openly to do this work God has called us to.

How about you? Are you focused on projects or people? I vote for people!

If you have questions following the webcast, feel free to email me at the link on the left...under my picture.

Six Random Fishhook Facts from Yesterday's Team Retreattag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453cdff69e20133f32af65f970b2010-08-19T07:48:53-04:002010-08-19T15:21:06-04:001. JD made a campfire out of two pieces of firewood and an accordion of Post-it notes 2. The mailman delivered two packages during our meeting and said, "Did somebody order dinosaur bones?" Each package contained two Vuvuzela Horns tightly...Evan

1. JD made a campfire out of two pieces of firewood and an accordion of Post-it notes
2. The mailman delivered two packages during our meeting and said, "Did somebody order dinosaur bones?" Each package contained two Vuvuzela Horns tightly wrapped end-to-end and they were addressed to our Brazilian friend Anderson who sublets space from Fishhook and is a huge soccer fan.
3. Leah ordered a #6 Unwich from Jimmy Johns.
4. We discovered that Fishhook only spends 6% of our total budget on office space, utilities and office related expenses.
5. We used 60 Post-it notes in our "What do we do" exercise. (We're not that scattered - the 60 boiled down into 3 1/2 categories. (trying to figure out if the 1/2 becomes a whole or is absorbed into one of the other 3)
6. So far this year we have worked with 66 different churches (Evan guessed the number would be 47.)

Basics of Church Communication - Webcast previewtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453cdff69e20133f32004a6970b2010-08-17T09:35:32-04:002010-08-17T09:39:38-04:00Thursday, August 19 (Noon - 1pm CDT) I'll be leading a MinistryCOM webcast: Basics of Church Communication. The webcast is aimed at those who are "new to church communications and overwhelmed by the job." To give a heads up, I'll...Evan

Resources (we'll look at some of the basic ones and I have a new assessment tool to help you map out plans for improvement for yourself and your team...if you have one)

Hope you'll join in. Hope it is a help.

Video scriptwriting advicetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453cdff69e20133f30af02f970b2010-08-13T08:21:03-04:002010-08-13T08:21:03-04:00I don't wanna brag, but in college I was a Telecom major with an emphasis on Video Production. (I chose this because it did not require any accounting classes). Much of my career has included loads of video scriptwriting. A...Evan

I don't wanna brag, but in college I was a Telecom major with an emphasis on Video Production. (I chose this because it did not require any accounting classes). Much of my career has included loads of video scriptwriting. A friend asked me for my advice as she was charged with writing her first video script. Here was my quickly composed email to her:

Here you go...as a writer, you need to write first with image and words together. For each moment that someone is hearing or reading your copy, you need to think of the image they are seeing/sound they are hearing.

You sort of have to have audio and video running in you head at the same time. AND - you have to think what can be realistically produced in the time/budget we have. For example,
if you're talking about the concept of "flight" do we see a bird? plane? feather? sky? if a plane is it moving? do we have a narrator...is the narrator seen, unseen? So many questions. Not unlike a print piece...but each answer impacts the produce-ability of the video.

I would say a tip I would offer is, start writing by closing your eyes and see the video in your mind. Hear the video in your mind. Feel the pace. Then capture that. Also, the same way you would allow white space in a print design, in video you control the pace of the viewers experience. So, think timing.

Sorta lame advice...but that how I do it.

Does this help at all?

Staff Changes - what to say when you can't say anything yettag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453cdff69e20134861b8e3b970c2010-08-10T10:15:28-04:002010-08-10T10:15:28-04:00Recently, we were asked by a church client to help them with some delicate communication planning. They are working through a major staff reorganization. For a number of reasons, at this point the staff knows the details of each of...Evan
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Recently, </span><a href="http://fishhook.us/" target="_blank">we</a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> were asked by a church client to help them with some delicate communication planning. &#0160;They are working through a major staff reorganization. &#0160;For a number of reasons, at this point the staff knows the details of each of their own situations and they have a clear picture of the new staff structure, but all of the changes will not be public for a period of time. &#0160;Knowing the dynamics of any workplace (and especially a church), c</span><span style="font-family: Arial; ">hurch leaders and staff are anticipating that they will get questions from people in the congregation. &#0160;The reality is, questions are coming and rumors are already afoot. As these questions come,&#0160;</span><span style="font-family: Arial; ">Church leaders and staff are asking a big question of their own:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; "><strong>&quot;If we can&#39;t talk openly for a while, what </strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>can</strong></span></em><strong> we say about the staff changes when people ask?&quot;</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Everyone involved wants to maintain truthful communication, but leaders are stressing to the staff that there are important reasons why the full picture of changes should not be made known right away.&#0160;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; ">Here is Fishhook&#39;s recommended outline/talking points for communication for every staff member and elder as they respond to questions from the congregation:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level:1"><strong><span style="font-family:
Arial">1. Acknowledge and Affirm</span></strong><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; ">As a member of the church
staff/elder, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">I&#39;m aware of some upcoming staff changes</span> as our church leaders
work to make us the best church we can be.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; ">I appreciate your
interest/concern/question. And <span style="text-decoration: underline;">here&#39;s what I <em><strong>can</strong></em>&#0160;share with you
at this time.</span></span></li>
</ul>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></span><strong><span style="font-family:
Arial">2. Convey Trust</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; ">First, let me say that <span style="text-decoration: underline;">I
trust God</span> is sovereign – and I trust He&#39;s in control.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; ">Second,<span style="text-decoration: underline;"> I trust our
church leaders</span> – and I trust they are praying through the changes and they
are seeking God&#39;s will for our church.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; ">Third, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">I trust that I can
ask you to be patient</span> until more information can be shared because these
changes involve r<span style="text-decoration: underline;">eal people, real families and real work and ministry
assignments</span>.</span></li>
</ul>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p><strong>3. Outline&#0160;</strong></o:p></span><strong><span style="font-family:
Arial">Next Steps</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; ">You may hear accurate
information and inaccurate information circulating in the weeks to come. Please
be patient until you hear more information <span style="text-decoration: underline;">directly from our church leaders</span>. Soon,
more details about our vision and future plans will be shared with the entire
congregation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; ">Staff: you can share broad
personal feelings: I&#39;m excited, It&#39;s hard, I&#39;m praying, etc. &#0160;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; ">Staff: If you sense someone
needs/wants to know or discuss more, suggest they contact (specific church
leaders by name).</span></li>
</ul>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p>While this language is geared to staff changes, the basic outline could be applied to many types of changes within a congregation. &#0160;The staff received this information well and knowing what to say gave them greater confidence</o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial; ">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; ">&#0160;&#0160;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><o:p><span>How would it work for you? &#0160;Does it feel authentic and complete enough for your world?</span></o:p></span></p>
</div>
Power of a funny wordtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453cdff69e2013485fb5a3c970c2010-08-07T10:48:00-04:002010-08-07T10:48:00-04:00Sometimes you just gotta shake the word box a little to grab attention. Here is a Facebook post of mine from earlier this week: Me: Jumped back on #LoseIt bandwagon. 14lbs to drop before @IndyMonumental half marathon. LoseIt makes it...Evan

Sometimes you just gotta shake the word box a little to grab attention. Here is a Facebook post of mine from earlier this week:

Me: Jumped back on #LoseIt bandwagon. 14lbs to drop before @IndyMonumental half marathon. LoseIt makes it simple, but never easy.

My friend Kathi Moore commented:What is that? I'd run the @IndyMonumental nikked if I could lose 14 lbs first! hahahahaha

"Nikked!" Oh, I loved it. It was so very unexpected and funny, and goofing up the spelling made it even better. The word totally grabbed my attention. It reminded me of the power of words and the exceptional power of funny words. What are you writing today and that can you funny up to gain more attention.

PS: you can follow Kathi at http://twitter.com/mediakath

How my cat got skinnytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453cdff69e2013485fb1efb970c2010-08-06T10:07:00-04:002010-08-06T10:07:00-04:00Yes, I swore my blog and twitter feed would never stoop to conversation about my cat, but for this thought I make an exception. This summer our cat has lost (I’m guessing) a 1/3 of her normal weight. Unless she’s...Evan

Yes, I swore my blog and twitter feed would never stoop to
conversation about my cat, but for this thought I make an exception.

This summer our cat has lost (I’m guessing) a 1/3 of her
normal weight. Unless she’s
suffering from an undiagnosed illness, here is what my wife and I can make of
it and what I draw from it.Our
cat has spent nearly the entire summer outdoors.Aside from sleeping indoors on most nights and coming in the
house 27 times a day to spend a few seconds getting one bite of food before
meowing to be let back out, she’d been outside.